Outshined_One

Actually, I remember around the trade deadline that the Marlins would consider moving Willis and Cabrera this offseason in an effort to trim payroll (!!!!!) since both were due pay raises and will be free agents in the near future. I'm unsure what to think about acquiring either Cabrera or Crawford at this point. The Devil Rays don't seem to have eased off from their strangely high demands for certain players since they brought in their new GM. They're going to try and screw other teams out of young starting pitching in exchange for him; that's a foregone conclusion. They'll want a comparable package to Nolasco-Mitre-Pinto, which I would not be willing to give up for Crawford. I have no faith whatsoever in this organization to instill plate discipline in hitters. Crawford had a Pierre-like .43 IsoD last season; I don't think that would improve if he came here. We saw what happened with Pierre this season; guys who have an OBP heavily based on AVG will be prone to really ugly slumps since everything is based on making good contact with the ball and having the defense screw up. Thankfully, unlike Pierre, Crawford has reasonable power for a CF'er and might not be thrust into the leadoff spot. With Cabrera, the guy is one of the best young hitters of this generation. Yes, he'll drive us insane in the OF, but his tremendous combination of power and patience would be a boon to this lineup. I don't think there are that many guys who could single-handedly turn around this lineup...however, I think Cabrera is one of those guys. He's already a masher and will only get better with time. I'd rather overpay for Cabrera than overpay for Crawford.

lol @ the fan Leyland kissed.

He should be sent to AAA!!

...Fate gets a phone call from her friends that there's another bar across town where her friends are at. She gives Bonderman her number and tells him to call some time.

This is all A-Rod's fault!!!

...Fate thinks Bonderman looks kinda cute...

So, Jeremy Bonderman walks up to the bar and sits down next to Fate. Fate offers to buy him a round...

You guys are serious aren't you? :shock: One can hope, right? Besides, if McDonough is that adamant about winning, you got to imagine he'll at least ask Hendry to pursue. Right? Right? There is no way we'd get ARod without Ramirez. The Yankees don't downgrade at positions and I don't see another 3B that can step in for the Yankees If the Cubs A-Ram to a new contract, wouldn't that mean they couldn't trade him until May or June?

Somehow, that figured. :D

Jaret Wright is busy throwing meatballs over the plate out there.

Ideal result: ARod goes 0-4 with 3 K's. The Yankees are down 1 going into the ninth and ARod either strikes out with the bases loaded or GIDP to end the game. I think he'd have to go into Witness Protection if that happened.

Ideally? Yes. Likely? No. A man can dream, can't he?

Interview some one other than those three, plz.

Remember the 1999 NLCS? Please tell me again how the Braves advanced to the World Series. I'll refresh your memory. :D

Looks like Jim Hendry can no longer use "The A's never advanced in the playoffs!" excuse. Man, if the A's win the WS, maybe that'd finally get Jimbo to buy into OBP.

He's just playing coy and is getting ready to sign Dave Duncan to manage. LIES! He's after Jose Oquendo. :P

Can Hendry please turn his blinders off and actually start giving serious consideration to other candidates? It's like Brenly, Girardi, and Piniella are the only candidates out there right now!

I think Crisp's problem is that he's not the ideal guy to bat leadoff and is better-suited to LF since it takes less of a toll on his body. I don't like the idea of replacing Pierre with him, needless to say.

They probably want to get something for him before he goes off to free agency. He'd probably make a decent 4th starter and an innings eater. If the Cubs trade for him, it'd likely involve pitching since Colorado is stacked with IF prospects. I'd hope they would do it for a package of somewhat lesser prospects or high ceiling/high risk guys down in Mesa/Boise. As much of a jerk as Myers may be, he'd be a heck of an upgrade to this rotation. If he shows he's gotten the help he needs and is remorseful, I don't see why the Cubs shouldn't look into him.

Link

The other problem is that a number of people (not everyone in this thread, mind you) are assuming that Lee was going to be able to reproduce, or at the very least come close to reproducing, his 2005 season. This is not a given by any stretch of the imagination; I don't care if you're a believer in statistics, psychology, shamanism, or Thor's influence in baseball. Everyone knew he was having a career year with those eye-popping numbers. I truly think it's unfair to place so much of this team's burden on Lee's shoulders. When he was out, a large number of people said this team's lack of offensive output was due to his absence. While there is plenty of credence in that statement, there are much better arguments regarding this team's lack of offensive success, even with Lee out of the lineup. How much better (offensively speaking) would this team be if they didn't have one of the worst hitters of this generation (Neifi) getting significant playing time? How about the terrible offensive output from Mabry, Cedeno, and Izturis? What about Pierre's and A-Ram's miserable slumps to start the season? Even if you give this team an extra ten wins with a healthy Lee, they would still have finished the season under .500 and out of the playoffs. I really hope Jim Hendry looks at this lineup and realizes that it needs some significant upgrades rather than keeping it intact, hoping they will eventually gel. Unless your starting pitching is eye-poppingly good (which our current rotation is not), the following lineup will not get your team above .500: Juan Pierre Cesar Izturis Derrek Lee Aramis Ramirez Jacque Jones Michael Barrett Matt Murton Ronnie Cedeno Pitcher Heck, I'd be skeptical of that lineup's output even with some one like Andruw Jones, Carlos Lee, or Alfonso Soriano in it. Getting two of those guys in there would help matters out quite a bit, though.

I'm guessing he'll be doing the Dodgers/Mets games.

I've been hearing rumors of Washington.

Aren't there rules about interviewing managers when you haven't even released your current one?

More like a vaguely awkward speech. Think nerdy 6th grader running for student council president-level. He just fired a guy he has worked with for 4 years, I expect him to be somewhat shaken. Indeed. He also looks like some one who hasn't had a good night's sleep in about a week.